Top Gear Botswana Cars [extra Quality] -

The underdog. It proved that Italian flair, even when terminal, has a soul.

The premise of the Botswana special was a direct attack on the rising popularity of urban SUVs. By choosing cars that were rear-wheel drive, light, and low-powered, the presenters aimed to show that simplicity and weight management were more important than high-tech 4x4 systems.

But the true stars of that 2007 episode weren't the presenters—they were the three rolling wrecks they bought for £1,500 each. The —a Lancia Beta Coupe, an Opel Kadett, and a Mercedes-Benz 230E—have since achieved mythological status. This article explores why these specific cars were chosen, how they survived (or didn’t), and where they are today. top gear botswana cars

Each presenter was given a budget of to purchase a car that had no off-road pedigree. 1963 Opel Kadett

(The Backup) : This car served as the penalty for any presenter whose car failed completely. It was painted in a bright "backup" color to humiliate the driver. What Happened to Them? The underdog

When it arrived, Hammond and Clarkson laughed at him. It was colossal. It had bench seats. It looked like the car a Botswanan taxi driver would reject for being too boring. It had the aerodynamics of a detached garage and was painfully slow.

The premise was intentionally absurd: prove that ordinary, budget-friendly, are superior to expensive, urban SUVs ("Chelsea Tractors") by driving 1,000 miles across the brutal terrain of Botswana. Armed with a budget of just £1,500 per vehicle , the trio purchased three wildly different cars that lacked any off-road pedigree. They drove them from the Zimbabwean border, straight through the treacherous Makgadikgadi salt pans, across the Kalahari Desert, through the predator-filled Okavango Delta, and finally to the Namibian border. By choosing cars that were rear-wheel drive, light,

The Top Gear Botswana Special, which first aired in November 2007 as part of Season 10, is widely considered the blueprint for the modern motoring television special. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were set a seemingly impossible challenge: buy a used, standard, two-wheel-drive car for less than £1,500 in South Africa, and drive it 1,000 miles across the harsh, unforgiving terrains of Botswana.